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Help the public actually understand your public notice (a Before & After in Wordnerdery)

Help the public actually understand your public notice (a Before & After in Wordnerdery)

by Sue Horner | Feb 25, 2025 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

Companies often have to meet government requirements to let people know what they’re up to. To do so, they publish public notices online and in newspapers. But what if those public notices are dense and confusing? A recent newspaper notice caught my eye because the...
Be clear to keep it confidential (a ‘Before & After’ in April Wordnerdery)

Be clear to keep it confidential (a ‘Before & After’ in April Wordnerdery)

by Sue Horner | Apr 24, 2024 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

A non-disclosure agreement or NDA is a common contract between contractors and large companies. It’s kind of a prenup covering the relationship, where we writers and other contractors promise not to divulge the secrets to be shared with us. You can bet the lawyers...
Making sense of long sentences; a ‘Before & After’ in January Wordnerdery

Making sense of long sentences; a ‘Before & After’ in January Wordnerdery

by Sue Horner | Jan 21, 2024 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

Have you ever started reading something, and had to stop because you lost your way in a long, meandering sentence? That’s what happened to me while reading an article in the Entertainment section of my local newspaper. The opening sentence rang in at 49 words....
Dissecting a 5K waiver: A “Before & After” in Wordnerdery

Dissecting a 5K waiver: A “Before & After” in Wordnerdery

by Sue Horner | Jul 21, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

If there’s an event involving people, you can bet someone is going to get injured. Oh, and the organizers don’t want to be responsible. That seems to be the thinking behind the official waiver you must sign to take part in a 5K run or walk. But will people understand...
Streamline sentences to translate terms; a ‘Before & After’ in Wordnerdery

Streamline sentences to translate terms; a ‘Before & After’ in Wordnerdery

by Sue Horner | Jan 25, 2023 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

This may be a new year, but it’s the same old, same old when it comes to wordy, baffling language. And you’ll find lots of that in any company’s Terms of Use. Terms of Use should be easy to read, don’t you think? And making them easy is just...
4 steps to simplify contract language (Wordnerdery)

4 steps to simplify contract language (Wordnerdery)

by Sue Horner | Nov 23, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

In the old days, a handshake was your contract. Today, the hands involved belong to lawyers, and they are all over the simplest of contracts. Unfortunately, as Ohio Judge Mark P. Painter says, “Most legal writing is atrocious.” Forget short, crisp sentences. One...
Before & after: Be clear if you want public  comment (Wordnerdery)

Before & after: Be clear if you want public comment (Wordnerdery)

by Sue Horner | Jan 20, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

At 100+ decibels, the sound of a large jet nearing a runway’s end is as noisy as being in the front row of a rock concert. (Remember those?) While the pandemic slashed the number of planes landing at and taking off from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport,...
Before & after: 5K run release (Wordnerdery)

Before & after: 5K run release (Wordnerdery)

by Sue Horner | May 20, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

Several times, I’ve taken part in a fundraising 5K event called Push for Your Tush. As usual with such events, I had to sign a release – actually a “RELEASE, WAIVER and INDEMNITY AGREEMENT,” in all caps every time it is mentioned – for the organizer, Colorectal...
Before & after: More terms and conditions that confuse

Before & after: More terms and conditions that confuse

by Sue Horner | Feb 4, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

The people behind the Air Canada Aeroplan rewards plan want to make sure members keep their information secure and up-to-date. I recently found this out because I was looking into turning some of my rewards points into gifts. It’s been a while since I poked around to...
Before & after: Promote your program with plain language

Before & after: Promote your program with plain language

by Sue Horner | Oct 14, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog

Plain language can save lives or make them harder, as the Center for Plain Language noted on Twitter this week. The occasion: International Plain Language Day (Oct. 13). We were disappointed with many of the results of the Federal Plain Language Report Card this year....
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